Private drives, land purchases not in city's jurisdictionBy Scarlet SimsReporter

POTTSVILLE -- Two issues were brought to the Pottsville City Council's attention during the Monday night's board meeting, but the city was legally unable to resolve the problems.

Mary Baggett, a resident of Pugh Lane, told the court her road had become nearly impassible and continued deteriorating.

"My question is why can we not get that road maintained (by the city)," Baggett said.

The area was recently annexed by the city, but the road is not a city road, said City Attorney Jeff Phillips. He said he contacted the Arkansas Municipal League, and they said the city was not responsible for the road.

Even though the county used to grade the road once a year, the road is actually a private drive that serves several families on about nine lots. The city could not legally take responsibility for the road, Mayor Jerry Duvall said.

He said that if the city trimmed trees or graded the road that it could face a lawsuit.

Baggett brought a court order to city hall earlier that stated all neighbors had easement to the road. She said a neighbor had blocked the road by pouring concrete in culvert, flooding it and keeping it from draining properly. She said the road was almost impassible when it rains and had a large rut had developed in the center.

"You're going to have to take whoever is blocking that road back to court," Phillips said, adding that Baggett and her family needed to see an attorney.

Duvall said the city would need permission from all neighbors and would need a 50-foot easement, 25 feet on each side of the road, for grading and repair work. The city could not take responsibility for a private drive, he said.

"There's nothing we can do," Duvall said.

Alderman George Woolf brought another problem to the council's attention.

Three-acre lots being sold near Redmond Road were not perking and were not sufficient for septic systems, Woolf said.

The area has no sewer access and is outside the city's ordinances because the lots are being sold as three acre lots. The land is being sold by owner and not through a real estate agent, members said.

Woolf said more than one lot had failed the perk test. One buyer had demanded and received reimbursement for the lot. The buyer had not asked if the land perked, Woolf said.

Phillips advised the council not to get involved. The city had no jurisdiction between two-party contracts, he said. He said residents should ask questions about property or to add a protective clause into the contract before buying.

"Seems like it's buyer be 'ware," said Billy Joe Holder, alderman.

Fire dues

The council approved setting up a special election to allow the county to collect fire dues. The flat-rate fee would be attached to the tax bill and collected by the Pope County Assessor's Office, said Fire Chief Brad Judkins.

If voters approve, the dues would be $35 for residential buildings, $10 for vacant lots and $100 for commercial, Judkins said.

He said the department was ready to proceed in getting an election, including getting a ballot title. The earliest the special election could be is December at a cost of about $1,500.

Judkins said the fire dues could bring in $15,000.

The council voted to approve proceeding with the special election.

In other business

The council decided to look into a quick fix for providing restrooms at the park. Port-A-Potties may be used until the council can budget for building a restroom. The council decided to look into prices for the portable restrooms for baseball season.

Discussion of Ellis Lunningham's subdivision on Highway 331 was tabled for lack of representatives.

The Business, Commercial and Industrial Building Permit Application Ordinance was read three times and passed.

An update was given on Angel Lake Development, which is supposed to be a gated community with about 140 lots.

The Pottsville Police Department gave out 179 traffic citations and answered 312 calls, said Chief Blake Herren. This month the department earned about $20,900 in court fines and $116,000 for the year.

The police department is looking into rotating wrecker services after several companies, including two from Russellville, asked to be put on the list. The proposal may be adopted during the next council meeting.

The water department needs a new computer and software.

The fire department received 11 calls, fought two structure fires and two grass fires and attended one auto accident.

The new fire truck has arrived and the substation is finished except for a bathroom. Judkins said he hoped to move the trucks into the new building this week.